A federal appeals court is weighing the extent to which the Supreme Court's landmark ruling Massachusetts v.EPA granted citizens and private property owners standing to sue in climate change disputes,in a challenge seeking damages from oil companies over the alleged effects of climate change. The U.S.Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Nov.3 oral arguments focused questions on whether owners of coastal Mississippi property damaged during Hurricane Katrina have legal standing to bring a class action lawsuit against 33 fossil fuel and chemical companies,whose greenhouse gases (GHGs) the plaintiffs allege increased the risk of damage to plaintiffs' coastal property by contributing to global warming and hence strengthening the storm.
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